Appliance for correcting foot ailments.



W. H. WOOD.

APPLIANCE FOR CORRECTING FOOT AILMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 16. 1916.

1,243,124. Patented Oct. 16,1917.

Ka i 7655615:

%% M-WM an s'rarns rarest carton- WILLIAM H. WOOD, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO STANLEY W. COOK, TRUSTEE,

. OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

APPLIANCE FOB CORRECTING FOOT AILMENTS Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented 0 a. 16, 1917.

Application filed December 16, 1916. Serial No. 137,321.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. W001), a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga. and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Appliances for CorrectingFoot Ailments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to appliances fo correcting foot ailments, and more particu larly to means for alleviating or correcting falling of the transverse arch of the foot. It is a fact well recognized by foot specialists, that the anterior portions of one or more of the metatarsal bones sometimes becomes displaced, tending to flatten the transverse arch of the foot adjacent the ball of the foot, thus causing local, and sometimes far-reaching, pain to the individual.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an appliance for exerting a curative upward pressure on the under surface of the foot contiguous to the aflected portion for mechanically restoring the displaced metatarsal bone or bones to proper position, and further objects of my invention are to provide such an appliance in simple, inexpensive, practical form that will enable the appliance properly to be used by the medically untrained individual and that will insure its retention in proper working position under the diversified conditions of normal uses of the foot. i

In the drawings, wherein I have illustrated for purposes of full disclosure one embodiment of my invention Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the appliance in use.

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section through parts of the appliance.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view indicated by lines 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view of the parts as seen from line 44 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is a detail of one of the parts detached.

In the embodiment of my invention I employ a hump plate 9 suitably shaped to act upon a small local area of the foot adjacent the heads of the affected metatarsal bones, this plate taking suitable form, herein illustrated as a sheet metal disk provided with a marginal fiat annulus 10 and a central hump 11 of suitable contour in plan and section, the hump being convexo-concave.

to provide therebeneath a recess 12. This hump plate is connected with a foot encircling girdle or belt 14, and the latter is suitably connected, as by stitching 15, with the top portion of a toe-envelop or mitten 17 that, covering the toe portion of the foot, anchors the belt and its connected hump plate against undue rearward displacement. Specifically I' prefer thatthe mitten 17 shall be of woven fabric, chamois-skin orthe like, comfortable to the foot,

and that it shall, on its under side, be out away-as at 18, in front of the ball of the foot, its upper side extending rearwardly in a broad'tongue 19, to a point in rear of the roots ,of'the toes, partway up the instep of the wearer. The girdle or band 14, stitched to the mitten at this rearwardly extending tongue, preferably has its portion that extends under the foot, and that carriesthe hump plate, free for some adjustment, thereby lessening the necessary size-range permitting duplicate structures to be used by persons having feet of somewhat different size and toe-length.

I prefer that the girdle or belt 14 shall be.

a fabric or thin-leather strap adjustably held under desired tension by buckle-means positioned within the recess of the hump plate and engaging end portions of the strap.

Specifically a simple arrangement, as shown.

in the drawings, will serve, the humpf portion of the plate being provided with slots 21, diametrically opposed near the base of the hump, to. receive the end-portions of the belt 14 that, within the recess of the hump plate respectively are passedv around opposite cross-members of a metal loop 22, preferably toothed as at 23, the extremities of the belt-ends passing back through the apertures 21 as best shown in Fig. 2. Preferably the metal loop 22 has a transverse bar 24 for purposes to be described.

The structure thus far described may be used to advantage, as the toe-embracing mitten and associated belt will properly po sition the hump plate longitudinally of the foot, and the adjustment of the hump plate on the girdle or belt will properly position it laterally, so that the crest of the hump is beneath any selected metatarsal. In practice it is possible, in most cases, for the user to adjust the belt or girdle in the retaining means and to leave that adjustment, slipping the applianee on or off over the toes,

but if desired, the belt may be made slightly elastic for greater comfort of the wearer.

In use the tendency of the hump plate is to slip backward, but this is adequately resisted by the joint action of the belt and toe-mitten.

In marketing my invention hump plates may," of course, be provided in different sizes and shapes, to vary the contour and the height effective elevation, but to provide means most readily available for the user to effect change of the height of the hump I preferably provide, as an auxiliary to the device, means for attaching a pad of desired thickness to the structure beneath the hump plate. Specifically the ant;- iliary elevator 30 is a thin metal plate, preferably -made of spring metal, having downbent teeth 31 to' engage a disk 32 of suitable thickness, made of leather or other suitable material, a tongue 33 being struck from the plate 30 and bent to provide a transverse groove 84L extending across a diametrical line of the plate. Such plate may have its grooved tongue-engaged, as shown in Fig. 2, with the central transverse bar 24 of the buckle-loop, thereby firmly, but removably, 'to' position the auxiliary elevator in register with the hump plate, the rim of which will bear directly on the metal plate 30.

While I have herein described in some detail a particular embodiment of my in vention it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many changes in detail of construction and arrangement may be made without departure from the spirit of my invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combination of a toe-envelopingstructure, a belt connected therewith at the top of thestructureyand a hump member adapted to be positioned beneath the an- Gopies of this patent may be obtained for terior portion of the metatarsals of the "buckled belt secured thereto, and a conveXo-concaved hump plate mounted on said belt and receiving thebuckle thereof in its concave.

3. The combination of a toe mitten, adapted to eXtendon. its upper side beyond the toes partway up the instep, a belt connected to the said top portion of said mitten and adapted to'extend, free from said mitten, beneath the wearers foot, and a hump element carried by said belt.

4. In a device .of the character described the combination of a foot encircling belt, a hump plate carried by said belt, and detachable means for elevating said hump plate. I Y

5. In a device of the character described, the combination of aconveXo-concave hump plate, a strap for encircling the foot provided with a buckle, said buckle located within the concave of said hump plate, and means for elevating said hump plate attached to said buckle.

6. In a device of the character described the combination of a mitten to receive. the toe portion of the foot, a belt connected to the upper portion of said mitten and provided with a buckle, a conveXo-concave hump-plate receiving said buckle in its concave, and an elevator comprising a plate having a spring tongue to engage the buckle and a padding below the plate.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination of a conveXo-concave'humpplate having opposed slots, a. buckle in the concave of said hump, a strap passing through said slots and engaging the buckle, and a toe-mitten engaging said strap.

In testimonywhereof I hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM; H. WOOD.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. r 

